Love Remains
by AdriRen
Summary: "First he makes me a fool at my own wedding and now he makes me a servant at his...I need to leave while I still have my dignity." A twist on King Joffrey's death and a rise to power and love with Tyrion and Sansa. With their fair share of struggles of course.
1. Chapter 1: Virtues

**Author's Note: I'm a little rusty on writing and I have not (yet) read the Game of Thrones books so if things are extremely different, just take it as my writing style I suppose. There beginning does have dialogue from the actual show and I did not write all of it though most of it I did. The rest has original work. If you like where this story is going, like, follow, and review! No negativity if you can help it though :3 Thank you all for taking time to read my story! Here we go!**

* * *

"Uncle." Tyrion and Sansa turned simultaneously to face the voice they were both dreading.

After a brief silence, the King continued. "Where are you going? You're my cupbearer, remember?"

Tyrion could swear he was not the only person grinding their teeth at the undying lust for power this ungrateful brat had, but nonetheless composed himself in a split second. Sadly he was the only one to respond. "I thought I might change out of these wet clothes, Your Grace," he said, using the politeness as a thin veil of disdain. Without hesitation, Joffrey refused. "You're perfect the way you are. Serve me my wine."

There was a silence. The silence allowed Tyrion to collect his thoughts.

_First he makes me a fool at my own wedding and now he makes me a servant at his. Well I won't allow every dwarf here made a fool of today. I need to leave while I still have my dignity._ Tyrion looked behind his shoulder to see Sansa and one look at her blank and yet frightened face was all he needed.

"Pardon, Your Grace, but Sansa is feeling very ill. She only got out of bed today to celebrate your glorious day. However, it would seem that all the main festivities have come to an end and I must escort my wife to our bedchambers." Joffrey gave an incredulous look and scoffed. "Are you saying you're putting this treacherous whore before your King-" Before he could rant longer, Tyrion held up a hand and stopped him.

"First off, my _wife_ is not a traitor, nor is she a whore. Her family was the traitors and she has only been with me in her entire lifetime. Also, last time I checked it was a man's duty to protect his wife. I believe they even make you take a vow at a thing called a wedding, something I believe you would know well considering you attended your own a few hours ago... In my situation, I'm damned if I listen to my wife and damned if I don't. And even the wisest of men would suggest listening to your wife." A few chuckles echoed around the reception area.

At this point, Joffrey was foaming at the mouth. "ENOUGH! I do not want to hear another word out of your Imp mouth! Take your damn wife and get out of my sight!" Joffrey stomped to his cup and knocked it over only causing his rage to increase. "THIS IS MY WEDDING ATTIRE! If that vile Demon Monkey wasn't such a whore pleaser my wedding wouldn't have been ruined!" Joffrey's angry words followed Tyrion as he guided Sansa toward the main entrance to the castle and he couldn't help but smile.

"Ah how I do love the sweet sounds of the God's taking an eye for an eye," he said as he glanced down at his own wine stained clothing. "Aren't women supposed to be more worried about their clothing?" Tyrion looked up into Sansa's face and he thought he saw a brief smirk.

* * *

"I would say we drink twice as much on this wedding night than we did on our own," Tyrion said while pouring a glass of wine then handing it to Sansa. "but I do not plan to be the first Lannister to die from drinking alcohol. Especially not when I'm so good at it." He sat back at in his chair and sipped his own wine.

Sansa remained silent while staring into her cup. "Thank you." Tyrion looked up, eyebrows raised. "Thank you for- for standing up to him. Especially for me." Tyrion chuckled. "I did it for myself as well, dear. I wanted to prove not all half-men are fools."

Sansa looked at Tyrion with something she never thought she would offer a Lannister. Respect. Tyrion met her eyes and smiled when he saw it.

"I did it for you as well though. That's what gave me the courage to do it." Tyrion raised his glass in a toast. "A toast! Because every good man needs his courageous, beautiful, and sadly taller wife standing behind him." Sansa raised her glass to meet his and took the biggest gulp of wine she's drank yet.

* * *

A few hours and a dozen glasses of wine later, Sansa smiled. Tyrion had been sharing some of his adventures, particularly the one of him being held captive by her mother. The thought of Tyrion, so small and yet so smart, bribing a man and almost being knocked out of a sky cell was amusing. Once Sansa got past the pang of sadness when she thought of her mother. Although her husband's stories were a nice distraction after the days events, specific thoughts still plagued her mind.

Sansa stood and walked to look out the window. Tyrion let his eyes follow her and couldn't help but notice how the deep orange tinted light from the setting sun played across her face or how bright her red hair glowed. "You were wrong earlier." Tyrion stood and walked to her side to enjoy the view as well.

"Dear Sansa, I am many things, but wrong is usually not one of them." Sansa looked into her half empty wine glass. " I'm not courageous in the least. I've been here for so many months like a caged little bird and they know it. I don't even defend myself every once in a while like you did. I don't even try to find someone who could help me..."Tyrion took her glass out of her hand and placed both of theirs on the table. He then took her hand hesitantly and when she didn't pull back, gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Just because you don't go about cursing the King does not make you a coward, it makes you smart. You survived here surrounded by enemies for months and even remained to be treated like the lady you are as well as getting to marry a dashing and wealthy man." Sansa looked down and smiled and Tyrion chuckled at his own expense.

"I know you may have done some things you didn't want to do, but I think it's safe to say that overall you maintained your dignity. I'm afraid I have to say you were wrong this time..." Sansa gave him a confused look. "You do have someone to help you. Me. I swear ,Sansa, that I'm going to take you home. After all, it is expected of us one day. But until that day, I will do everything in my power to make this place a little more bearable until then."

Sansa gave him a smile that actually showed her teeth and she swallowed the lump in her throat as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Tyrion bowed and smiled back before she turned back to the window.

Tyrion started to return to his wine but was stopped short by a loud ringing of bells. So loud it made Sansa jump. She turned her wide, frightened eyes to Tyrion and he quickly reassured her.

"Stay here. I'll-" He was interrupted when Podrick stormed into the room.

"The King is dead!"


	2. Chapter 2: Monsters

_The king is dead._

With those words came a chill.

A feeling no one had time to think about when the screaming started.

Sansa was the first one out the door, following the shrills around corridors until she found the source. What she saw was quite a shock on her part. Margaery, dress ripped and covered in blood, had her wrists in a deadly grasp by Cersei. Sansa stared at the scene in horror until Tyrion and Podrick came running up behind her.

"You conniving, manipulative, greedy bitch! You think you can get away with killing my son- I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD IF I HAVE TO CHOP IT OFF MYSELF-"

"ENOUGH!" Everyone stilled. Tywin's voice echoed before he turned the corner and became visible.

"Father, she killed your grandson, my son, THE KING-"

"You say it like you saw it yourself. Have you even asked her part?" Cersei, who had been pulled away from Margaery by two large soldiers, looked her up and down in disgust.

"There is no need. Anyone with eyes can see-"

"Anyone with a brain would know eyes can be deceiving!" Cersei was starting to get tired of being interrupted, something she was not used to after so many years of serving as queen. For the first time in what felt like forever, she had to bite back tears as the full affect of her son's death hit her. She knew she would weep for him later, but for now she had to remain strong.

"You may be my father, but I am the queen. I have the final say. And while I would love to stab her through the heart this second, I will not. I do, however, demand that she be taken to the dungeon." The two men that had pulled her away took Margaery without hesitation. She uttered not a single protest.

"Poor girl... seems to be in a state of shock," Tyrion said after they had disappeared around the corner. Cersei scoffed.

"Don't start Cersei." Tywin beckoned for Podrick who was the only other person that wasn't high born in the corridor.

"I'm going to have to borrow your services from Tyrion. Put this in Cersei's wine," Tywin whispered. He handed Podrick a little pouch. "and she will sleep all throughout tonight and tomorrow night as well. I think we all need a break."

"Yes my Lord." Podrick bowed and after arguing with Tywin for a while longer, Cersei agreed to allow Podrick to escort her to her bedchambers.

"As for you two," Tywin approached Tyrion. "take Sansa back to the comfort of your bedchambers and come to my quarters." Tyrion raised an eyebrow but decided his father was making the best decisions tonight so he would follow orders without questioning them. Tyrion gently took Sansa's arm and led her back the way they came as she stared into nothingness. He couldn't decipher if the sobs coming from her were really sobs.

"Are you laughing or crying?," he asked as he closed the door.

"Both I suppose.. Jofferey's dead but... Margaery. She was one of the very few people I felt comfortable with. She was my friend."

"She IS your friend." Sansa let out another sob. She took deep breathes, collected herself, then went to light the candles in the darkened room. "I don't know what my father wants from me, but hopefully it will help us make sense of the situation. I don't know how long I'll be gone. I want you to get some rest. It has been a very stressful day with more to come I'm sure." Sansa nodded but they both knew she wouldn't be sleeping well tonight. Tyrion nodded back and left to see his father.

* * *

"My first son loses his hand and my daughter loses her damn mind. You're the only child I got that's still in one piece." Tywin stopped pacing and sat at the end of the table across from Tyrion.

"And yet I'm still only half their size. What a pity." Tywin gave a disapproving look.

"Don't make me regret complimenting you."

"Well if you didn't call me here to flatter me, what exactly is my purpose, my Lord?" Tywin leaned forward and folded his hands on the table.

"Who do you think killed Jofferey?" Tyrion was shocked that his father bluntly stated his question. Hinting his purpose through layers of deceptive bullshit was usually his style.

"As I recall, I was locked in a room with my wife for the rest of the wedding, so I would not be the one to come to for primary knowledge of wedding events."

"None of us saw it because it didn't happen at the wedding, Tyrion. After your shenanigans, Jofferey continued to act like a little prick and demanded the bedding ceremony early. Margaery, being as kind as she is, wouldn't let that happen until she made sure the leftovers from the feast were delivered as promised. That caused a fight with Cersei. Cersei obviously wished to spite the new woman in Jofferey's life. Several hours later, the cooks managed to have nearly the whole town fed and Cersei was as livid as a creature from hell itself. It didn't help that Jofferey had drank so much damn wine he acted worse than you did at your wedding." Tyrion laughed and was more than a little disappointed he didn't get to see that. "Jofferey stumbled to his bedchambers with Margaery helping him. A little while later, I pass by their room and Margaery came running out looking as she did in the corridor. Covered in her husband's blood and horribly suspicious. I thought her guilty myself until she started shouting how he choked. She tried to revive him but failed. I asked her the events of what happened and she told me he demanded more wine when they arrived in the chambers. She had said a new servant she hadn't seen before entered with a pitcher. She refused to have more but after he drank his fill, they went to consummate their marriage. Before they could, he choked on his last mouthful of wine, collapsed on her, and was dead."

"The girl didn't do it then. What good is killing the King when you aren't a queen? She gained nothing from it. She even admitted to not consummating the marriage." Tywin nodded.

"I had come to those conclusions myself. I left her standing in the corridor while I went to get a couple of men to take his body away and sent a squire to alert the bell ringer of the King's death. As soon as I found the guards, I hear Cersei start screaming like a mad woman. It didn't look good at all but you can't explain something like that to Cersei. " Tyrion nodded, taking in all of this information. He stood and walked around the room, observing his father's various books and trinkets. He turned and continued the other way. "Well?," Tywin asked obviously getting agitated.

"I have not the slightest clue. It could be anyone. Anyone who didn't like him. Anyone who wanted to be King. It could be you. You do seem to have a habit of carrying around suspicious pouches." Tyrion recalled the pouch he gave to Podrick.

"I'm a 67 year old man who has been through more in my lifetime than anyone in this country has. If you've seen some of the things I've seen, you'd need help sleeping at night as well. I would know if I carried poison." Tyrion sighed in frustration and was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion.

_This is the first time my father has ever seeked my advice on anything and I can't leave him empty handed._

"All I have in mind is to find the servant." Tywin stood and walked toward the door without looking back.

"Not really much help. I already knew to do that myself."

* * *

When Tyrion returned, Sansa was awake at the window as he expected. The only candle that was lit was in her hands and she seemed not to notice him as he entered but she must have because that's when she spoke.

"I tried. I tried to sleep but ended up staring at the ceiling loathing the thought of how another innocent person has to die. Another person who was near and dear to me." She paused. Tyrion went to her side and just like earlier, there they were, man and wife gazing out of the window. Although this time the scenery was much different. "They've been doing this ever since the bells rang. Half the city is celebrating and half are outraged. Either way, nearly the whole city is trashed." Tyrion's eyes swept the streets below him and was saddened at what he saw. Random rubbish piles and fires. Personal belongings strewn out of homes and a few dead bodies here and there from strugglers against rape or people killed for no reason at all.

"I don't understand why people use any excuse they can to make a monster out of themselves while larger monsters are being sought after," Tyrion said softly. Sansa imagined this wasn't the first time he had seen something similar to this. She turned to him.

"Margaery is innocent?" Tyrion remained silent causing Sansa to become disappointed.

"My father and I both concluded we share a belief on her innocence. But sadly, in a trial, an 'I think she didn't do it' does not really count for much." Sansa sighed and placed her candle on the table beside her.

"Well. What if I know she didn't do it?" Tyrion smiled.

"There's a long journey ahead of us. Who knows what the future might bring? If you know you can prove her innocence, I shall help you. I'm afraid this journey will have to wait for a later time though. For now, let us sleep." Sansa nodded in agreement but Tyrion could see the unasked question on her face. "Don't worry.. I won't share your bed until you want me to, remember? With King's Landing in an uproar over Jofferey's death, I think we have plenty of time to push off the inevitability of sleeping together. No one should question us any time soon " Sansa smiled thankfully as Tyrion resolutely settled himself onto the couch he had been sleeping on. _I really hope I'm not stuck here my whole life like a poor fellow arguing with the Mrs._

"Goodnight, Tyrion," Sansa called from the bed. Tyrion smiled without humour.

"Goodnight, Sansa." He leaned forward and blew out the candle.


End file.
